Absolute Gate

Chapter 20 Meeting at the Funeral Hall
Wu finally arrived at the roadside, hid his weapon, and waved to stop a car.

But seeing his pathetic state, no one wanted to pay him any attention.

Wu Zhong's clothes were tattered, his body was covered in blood, and his arms were wrapped in strips of cloth, making him look extremely pitiful.

He had no choice but to walk along the road while waving.

After an unknown period of time, the three wolfhounds caught up with him for the sixth time.

"I can't bark anymore..."

Wu Zhong's throat was practically on fire as he forced himself to bark, while simultaneously waving a wooden stick in an attempt to scare the wolfhound away.

Clearly, the three wolfhounds were not afraid of him; as soon as he stopped barking, they charged at him.

Just when Wu was in dire straits, a car suddenly stopped beside him.

A man with long hair leaned out and roared, "Heh heh! Go away!"

He roared loudly, but the wolfhound was not afraid. It bared its teeth and showed no intention of backing down.

"Dude, get in the car!"

The long-haired man shouted and opened the car door.

Wu Zhong hurriedly crawled inside, and the man, not daring to linger and get entangled with the dog, stepped on the gas and sped away.

Although wolfhounds can run fast, they can't outrun cars.

Wu Zhong watched the dog chasing after him relentlessly, getting further and further away until it disappeared from sight, and only then did he feel relieved.

"Dude, what happened to you?"

"I have iodine, gauze, and bandages in my car. Please take them."

The driver was a kind-hearted man who, seeing Wu Zhong in such a pitiful state surrounded by three vicious dogs, stepped forward and stopped his car to rescue him.

Wu hurriedly thanked him, then opened the first-aid kit in the car to disinfect and treat his wound.

"thanks, thanks!"

"Oh dear, it's a long story. This awful weather, the wind is so strong! I... accidentally rolled down the mountain and wandered around in the mountains all afternoon."

"I also encountered three wolfhounds that kept chasing me!"

The helpful man said, "So unlucky? Yeah, this weather is terrible, there are hurricane warnings for the next few days..."

"Dude, want me to take you to the hospital? I see you're like this..."

Wu Zhong looked so miserable, but how could he dare to go to the hospital?

He hurriedly waved his hand: "No trouble at all. If it's on your way, could you please take me to Hejiashan?"

"Huh?" The helpful man was taken aback by these words.

To the locals, this means, 'Please take me to the crematorium.'

"Um... my relative passed away, I have to go." Wu Zhong used the first-aid kit in the car to clean the wound again and bandage it properly with gauze.

The kind-hearted man said, "Oh, you're injured like this but you still want to go? It seems like someone very important to you. My condolences."

"Um, thank you..." Wu replied vaguely.

The kind man added, "Hejiashan is a bit far, but it's okay, it's about on the way."

"Thank you so much! If it's too much trouble, you can deliver it to the nearest place." Wu Zhong was truly grateful to him. If it weren't for this man's help, he would have been in big trouble and would have been constantly bothered by the dog.

At that point, let alone meeting up with Wujinxia at Hejiashan, they'll probably be captured by Unit 985 very soon.

After all, those three wolfhounds were definitely for tracking. If the dogs kept bothering him, Lu Guangqi and his men would definitely be able to locate him.

"Tsk!" the kind man chuckled. "No need to be polite, I'll just deliver it to you on my way."

After thanking him again, Wu was so tired that he dozed off in the car.

But then he slapped himself and was too scared to go to sleep.

First, a person cannot wake up naturally without sufficient noise while sleeping, and he was afraid of causing trouble.

Secondly, he worried that this drowsiness was a sign that the zombie virus was about to take over his mind!

I'm afraid that if I fall asleep, I'll turn into a zombie!

"Huh?" the helpful man said in surprise, "Why are you hitting yourself? Buddy, if you want to sleep, just sleep. I'll wake you up when we get there."

Wu Zhong waved his hand: "No, no, I'm fine."

He persevered throughout the journey, only resting while sitting.

It got dark quickly, and the kind-hearted man finally drove the car to the vicinity of the funeral home.

"I'm almost there, buddy. I have to rush home. Otherwise, I would have made sure to go in and offer some incense," the helpful man said with a smile.

Wu Zhonglian said no thanks, expressed his gratitude repeatedly, and got out of the car.

The other party made no demands and drove away.

Wu was moved to realize that there were still many good people in the world. Then he remembered that he had forgotten to ask the person's name, so he quickly squinted and wrote down the license plate number.

After that, he began to wander around the entrances of various mourning halls, searching for 'Sun Min'.

But no one would write the deceased's name on the entrance of the funeral hall.

The main entrance only has hall names such as "Zhengxiao Hall", "Jingdao Hall", and "Chunxian Hall".

He figured that since it was the base of Endless Summer's companions, it should be the largest one.

So they entered the largest hall in the center, 'Chungye-dang'.

He walked in looking so miserable, and the whole family inside was stunned.

Where did this beggar come from?

Why is there still blood? Wrapped in bandages…did he just come from the battlefield?

All sorts of strange looks were staring at him.

Wu was a complete stranger, not knowing a single person, and walked right into the funeral hall, which was extremely awkward.

But he could only bite the bullet and ask, "Excuse me, is this Sun Min's mourning hall?"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes." A middle-aged fat man, probably a filial son, hurriedly came forward and shook his hand.

Wu Zhong was certain he had found it.

"Um... excuse me, what happened to you?" The fat man quickly handed him a bottle of water when he saw that his voice was hoarse.

Wu Zhong didn't stand on ceremony and drank it all in one gulp.

Then it's that same old story again: "The wind blew me down the mountain ditch, and when I went out, I got bitten by a dog."

Those present were puzzled but deeply shocked.

A woman with a scrutinizing gaze asked him, "May I ask who you are with my father...?"

Wu Zhongxin said he didn't know the person at all.

And only then did he realize that the person was an elderly man, yet he had just addressed him by his first name.

However, Wu Zhong still forced himself to remain calm and said, "Well... Grandpa and I, well, how should I put it, you definitely haven't seen me before, but my name is Wu Jinxia, ​​do you remember me?"

He figured that mentioning Endless Summer would be the key to making contact.

To everyone's surprise, the dutiful sons and grandsons were completely bewildered, and the women looked at each other...

The meaning is clear: Who is this? Does anyone know him? Who invited this relative or friend?

For a moment, no one responded, and the scene became extremely awkward.

Upon seeing this, Wu's heart skipped a beat.

Oh no! Could it be that Endless Summer doesn't even know this family?
This wasn't some secret hideout, or someone from his own family; it was just a name that Endless Summer casually used to fool him.
"This doesn't make sense. He told me to meet him at this funeral hall, and he even knows the deceased's name, but this place has absolutely nothing to do with him?"

Wu Zhong was nervous and felt the scene was extremely awkward.

He hurriedly said, "Um, may I offer incense first?"

People offer incense and kowtow to the deceased. Although the filial sons and grandsons find his appearance strange, they will naturally not refuse. So what if he really is a beggar?

They still warmly welcomed him to the offering table, lit an incense stick, and handed it to him.

Wu finally knelt down, kowtowed three times to the deceased, and lit an incense stick.

Afterwards, he helped up the kneeling son who had been accompanying him, and his eyes confirmed that the person in the coffin was Sun Min.

After all, the name is written on the memorial tablet.

"He told me to wait inside Sun Min's mourning hall. Is it alright if I wait outside?"

"Should I go first and wait outside the mourning hall?"

Wu finally decided to leave as soon as possible.

Unexpectedly, the filial son grabbed his hand and wouldn't let him leave.

I kept him chatting and repeatedly asked who had invited him—a distant relative, or someone's colleague?

Wu couldn't answer; he didn't recognize the family at all.

He said, "Sigh, the old man and I are close friends despite the age difference. Back then... well, let me give you a gift first."

Wu Zhong walked to the table where the gifts were kept, and seeing his whole family surrounding him, he knew it wouldn't be easy to walk there.

He couldn't make up any more stories, so he decided to just give a monetary gift.

But he was in a terrible state. His stomach was growling with hunger, he was injured and couldn't get treatment, and he was wearing tattered clothes and pants... He had escaped from the base, and he had left his cell phone and other personal belongings there.

Wu Zhong is now penniless!

All he had was a gun, a grenade, and a knife hidden in his trouser leg.

You can't give a gun as a wedding gift, can you?
So he gritted his teeth and said, "Gentlemen, as you all saw, I rolled down the mountain and lost my phone."

"I don't have any cash on me right now. Can any of you lend me your phone to make a call?"

When they heard that he wanted to give a gift, everyone was suspicious, but a woman still lent him her phone.

Wu Zhong stared blankly at his phone. Actually, he was quite wealthy now. He could easily switch accounts and log into his Huabao account, where he still had over 800,000 yuan.

However, he dared not log in.

The reason for gathering at this funeral hall is its secrecy. If we log in using the money from the past, who knows whether Endless Summer or 985 will arrive first?

He figured he should just consider the money gone; he wasn't really reluctant to part with it. In fact, he didn't really feel like that money belonged to him.

Now that things have come to this, he has no choice but to borrow some food from someone; he's starving.

He thought it over and over, but he had no relatives or former colleagues, so he dared not contact them.

As for his classmates, because his family was poor, he often became withdrawn at school and didn't go out to play with others, so his relationships with his classmates were just average.

It's really pathetic, really. The only way he could make friends was online, and only there could like-minded people gather and chat randomly, without caring about your family background. Only then did he feel at ease.

So he made a phone call he thought he would never make again in his life.

Zichen Sanren is an online name, which I met in a book club group many years ago, but I'm not as close as Niguang.

He's supposedly a rich kid, but I'm not sure. I just remember once when Zichen went to Lushan, she met up with him, a local online friend, and we had a meal together.

Later, he was invited to stay and play on Mount Lu for a month, but Wu refused because he had to go to work.

So he left his phone number and left. Later, he posted a bunch of landscape photos in the group chat, and that was it.

"Is this the right one? The last four digits are 8118..." Although Wu Zhong had never called it, the number was easy to remember.

He walked to the side, and the call was quickly connected.

"Hello? Who is it?" A familiar, lazy voice came from inside.

Wu Zhong walked further away and said, "Brother Chen is me, Wu Zhong harbors no hatred."

"Oh, Wuzhong, you actually called me? I haven't been online for a long time. What happened in the group?" Zichen asked curiously.

Wu Zhong said awkwardly, "It wasn't in the group chat, something happened to me..."

Zi Chen asked, "Ah? What happened to you?"

Wu Zhong couldn't say, he only said: "There have been some major changes, I can't say for sure, but I'm completely helpless now, I'm really at my wit's end."

“You know I don’t have any friends in real life. I originally wanted to ask Ni Guang for help, but he’s in trouble himself right now, so I can only ask you. You know I never ask for help, but this time it’s really not possible.”

Towards the end, his tone became somewhat broken.

Zi Chen remained silent and did not respond.

Seeing this, Wu Zhong lowered his voice even further: "It's just... I need your help in an emergency."

"Is it convenient for you to lend me some now..."

Zi Chen chuckled, her tone irritated, "No, why is everyone asking me for money these days? I just lent money to someone last week, and last year two bastards still haven't paid me back... and the year before last..." Wu Zhong's heart sank. Listening to the other person's complaints, he knew it was hopeless.

In the past, he would have said "never mind," but now he was really out of options, so he forced himself to say, "It's really an emergency, Zichen. Just lend me a little bit, I'll definitely pay you back, please."

Zi Chen took two deep breaths and said, "It's rare for you to ask, so what can I say... Just tell me how much you're borrowing."

Wu Zhong said in a low voice, "Four hundred."

"How much?" Zi Chen exclaimed in surprise.

Wu Zhong hurriedly said, "How about two hundred... actually one hundred is fine too, I want to have a meal."

"No... you still need to borrow such a small amount of money?" Zi Chen's tone was shocked and anxious.

"All this beating around the bush, all this build-up, this whole 'major upheaval' stuff? I thought you were asking me for a few million!"

Wu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "No, no, how could I possibly borrow that much? Just a hundred yuan will do."

Zi Chen pressed on, "Are you sure it's one hundred yuan, and not one hundred W?"

Wu Zhong hurriedly said, "How could that be? I just want to have a meal. I'm also injured, and I want to buy some medicine..."

Zi Chen was almost speechless: "Damn it, you should have said so earlier! Why did you ask for a few hundred yuan? Just ask me directly."

"You're injured? What happened? Were you in a car accident?"

Wu Zhong felt a warmth in his heart, and the tension in his heart eased.

"It's not a serious injury, I just rolled down the mountain and got bitten by a dog, and now I'm penniless."

Zi Chen breathed a sigh of relief, then said in surprise, "Well, you've got quite a lot of experience. Okay, I, Green Bubble, will transfer the money to you right now."

"Don't send green bubbles..." Wu Zhong hurriedly stopped him.

"I lost my phone too, so I'm borrowing one. Could you add this green bubble to my contacts?"

He added Zichen using the account on his current phone.

Zi Chen complained, "What a tacky profile picture...and the name is tacky too...Is this just a random person? I won't forward it to this person. Find a store's QR code and send it to me."

Wu Zhong didn't understand what it meant, but when he saw a QR code on the table next to him where they collected money, he took a picture of it and sent it to him.

"Alright, the money's been transferred to you. It'll arrive in a bit. It's ten thousand yuan. Once it arrives, go to the store to get a refund, and you can pay me back slowly later," Zi Chen said.

"Huh? Ten thousand? That's too much, you..." Wu Zhong didn't expect him to give so much directly, and said with emotion, "Okay, thank you, thank you, brother, I will definitely pay you back in the future."

Zi Chen chuckled: "It's nothing, alright, I'll hang up if there's nothing else."

"Wait a minute..." Wu Zhong reminded him, "Um, my account in the group and Green Bubble have been hacked, so don't send me any messages."

Zi Chen was taken aback. After a moment of silence, she suddenly said, "Huh? That's not right, neither of my two accounts will let me contact them?"

"Wait a minute, are you Wu Zhong? The voice is right, but with technology so advanced these days... Holy crap, you're not a scammer, are you?"

Wu Zhong's lips twitched; this guy really borrowed money too easily.

He quickly recounted what the two had talked about when they ate at a farmhouse restaurant at the foot of Mount Lu, which dispelled the other's suspicions.

"That scared me to death! I thought I'd been scammed again!" Zi Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

Wu Zhong curled his lip: "Again? In the future, you must verify the person's identity through various channels before paying for these kinds of things."

"Okay, okay, I got it. I'll go download an anti-fraud app right now."

After the two hung up the phone, Wu finally walked back to the front of the stage.

Suddenly, the account used to receive the gifts reached exactly 10,000 yuan, leaving everyone stunned.

In an instant, the way they looked at Wu Zhong changed.

"Hey, brother, there's way too much."

"Have a cigarette, have a cigarette."

The filial son, beaming with smiles, quickly offered him a cigarette and lit it himself.

The grandson brought over a chair, invited him to sit down, and poured him a cup of tea.

The women's scrutinizing, suspicious, and disgusted expressions vanished, and they hurriedly brought over pastries.

Wu Zhong felt a little embarrassed by their attentiveness, because he needed to get his gift money back...

"Um... this money was for my friend to buy medicine. Look at my miserable state, I... this gift money..."

Wu Zhong hadn't finished speaking yet.

The woman who lent me her phone said with a pained expression, "Oh dear, this awful weather outside is causing so many accidents!"

"You've gone through so much trouble! You came all this way for my old man, and you ended up like this..."

"Look at you, you've fallen and are covered in bruises."

"Your arm is still bleeding? Hurry up and get the first-aid kit."

A group of relatives brought a first-aid kit and re-treated Wu Zhong's wounds, doing a better job than he had done himself.

Seeing his tattered clothes, the wise grandson said, "I have an old set of clothes in my carriage, but they're clean. Why don't you change into them?"

His father shoved him on the spot: "What are you saying, you brat? Old clothes? Go buy a new set of clothes!"

Xiansun was bewildered: "Huh? Where can I buy clothes around here?"

This is a cemetery; the only places nearby that sell funeral clothes are nearby.

His father roared, "Don't you know how to drive to buy it! You brat, get up there! You have no manners!"

A young man of similar age to Wu Zhong immediately drove off to buy clothes.

Wu Zhong did not stop him; he couldn't just stay in tattered clothes like that, could he?
He didn't borrow the money entirely for gift-giving; it was mainly for buying clothes and medicine for himself.

As it turned out, the other party was too perceptive and blocked Wu's reason for asking for the money back.

Wu Zhong opened his mouth: "Um, I haven't eaten in a long time, so I... "

The filial son immediately said, "You've chosen me? How could there be no place for you at the banquet tonight?"

"You absolutely must not leave during these three days of the memorial service, and on the day of the funeral, you should stand behind me..."

Wu was speechless.

He was being served, smoking, drinking tea, and being served pastries.

Then he said, "Well, I can't stay for three days. I just came to see you today, and I'll be leaving in a little while, so..."

"Ouch!" The filial son's eyes widened.

"Are you insulting me? It's enough that you came to offer incense. It's our fault for not being hospitable and for being impolite."

"You don't even recognize Father's old friends? Um... you must be the old man's mahjong partner, right?"

Wu nodded vaguely.

The woman beside her nodded and said, "No... Wu Jinxia? Yes, yes, I remember now. The old man often mentioned you."

"Really?" The filial son said in surprise, "Yes, I remember too."

"The old man did mention it. It's my fault for not being able to remember properly. I didn't treat him well enough."

The whole family gathered around him chatting, but Wu wasn't a very outgoing person. He responded only half-heartedly, and it was mostly the other people talking.

This family was also eloquent and courteous, ensuring that there was never a dull moment and that nothing was left unsaid.

Seeing that Wu Zhong didn't want to talk about his relationship with the old man, they stopped and changed the subject to the weather.

Another sigh escaped their lips as they cursed the awful weather, saying it had ruined Wu Zhongcheng's appearance.

As for Wu Zhong's relationship with the old man, it didn't matter at all; nobody cared.

When someone comes in, kowtows, offers incense, and gives a gift of 10,000 yuan, it doesn't matter who it is anymore; the courtesy has been taken to the extreme.

The woman didn't even want the cell phone anymore; knowing that Wu Zhong's cell phone was gone, she simply brought a nearly new one.

Even without a SIM card, WiFi is useful in modern society.

"Don't be so polite, we're all family. I have an old cell phone, feel free to take it."

"You can't get around without a mobile phone when you're out and about."

Everyone was happily eating sunflower seeds and chatting.

"Um, actually, this gift money was transferred to the wrong person!" Wu Zhong forced himself to say it.

For a moment, the scene was deathly silent.

Wu Zhong felt embarrassed, because it was somewhat disrespectful to the deceased.

"The clothes have arrived!" At this moment, Xiansun drove back, bringing two sets of clothes, from head to toe, and shoes.

Perhaps his father had called to give him extra instructions, because neither outfit was cheap. Wu Zhong estimated that they would cost six or seven thousand yuan in total, since the shoes alone cost more than two thousand yuan, which he recognized.

"This..." The other party actually used this method to retreat most of him.

Now Wu was in an even more difficult position to ask for the gift money back... He realized that the other party wasn't really greedy and knew that the money had been mistakenly given, but the rules were that they couldn't directly take the money back from the gift money; if they wanted a refund, they would have to do it in another way.

"Oh... I'm sorry, my friend sent the wrong gift money, but this gift is for my grandfather. It's all from the heart, so please accept it." Wu Zhong said smoothly after understanding the situation.

The atmosphere at the scene became harmonious again.

Wu Zhong had never worn such fine clothes in his life, so he immediately went in and changed into a new set.

Time passed by minute by minute.

Two hours later, they brought out a sumptuous late-night snack, and the filial son immediately opened two bottles of good wine.

Wu was starving, so he ate heartily without any restraint, but only took a sip of wine.

People kept offering him toasts, but he dared not drink too much, for fear of getting drunk.

He ate while looking out the window, but Endless Summer still hadn't arrived.

As time went on, Wu began to worry.

On one hand, I'm worried about the other person's safety. What if they get killed? Wouldn't that mean he'd be finished too?
On the other hand, there are concerns that 985 universities might have some special means to find this place.

Perhaps they're already on their way. Thinking of this, Wu Zhong became even more anxious.

But there was no use in being anxious; he had no choice but to wait here for Endless Summer.

I originally thought this was some kind of base, where Endless Summer's accomplices would meet him and arrange for him to hide.

This is the result, and it's truly nerve-wracking.

"Mr. Wu, are you planning to stay tonight? Wife, quickly get the cards and play a few rounds with Mr. Wu."

Seeing that Wu Zhong had no intention of leaving, the filial son immediately arranged a game of mahjong.

Wu Zhong wanted to refuse, but he was bored while waiting, and these people treated him as the old man's mahjong partner, so he had no choice but to play a game of mahjong.

Although he knew how to play, he didn't play much, and his attention wasn't on the table; he was staring outside the game the whole time, which led to his heavy losses.

Of course, the stakes weren't high, and the chips were given to us by others.

Actually, I wanted to get some money back from him through the card table, but two hours passed and he still didn't win a single hand!

This completely baffled the family. They had already let Wu win, but he still wouldn't listen to their winnings.

I wondered: how else could he be the old man's card-playing partner? It turns out his card-playing skills are so kind and gentle.

However, they wouldn't say that out loud. Instead, they would say, "That's why Mr. Wu makes money. He leaves room for maneuver at the card table, and his business will surely flourish."

Wu Zhong gave an awkward smile, casually picked up a card, and kept glancing outside.

"Hey, do you even know how to play mahjong? You can win with just one touch, why don't you touch it?"

Just as Wu was completely bewildered by his defeat, a familiar voice came from behind him.

He turned around abruptly and saw Endless Summer watching the card game behind him.

Wu suddenly stood up, spilling all the cards from his hand onto the table.

"You've come! You've finally come!"

Wu Jinxia was dressed in a sharp suit, her hair was neatly styled, and she smelled of fragrance, clearly having just washed and groomed herself.

He leaned on the umbrella with one hand and held a half-smoked cigarette in the other: "Yeah, I've been here for a while."

Wu Zhong blinked. He had been watching the main entrance the whole time. There was only one door to the mourning hall, and in the middle of the night, he hadn't seen Wu Jinxia come in at all.

Moreover, there wasn't a single trace of rain on Wujinxia's body.

……

　P.S.: Sorry.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)